On Monday, the Filipino Academy of Movie Arts and Sciences (FAMAS) publicly apologized following criticism from the son of veteran actress Eva Darren, who claimed his mother was overlooked during Sunday night’s awards ceremony.
Eva Darren had been invited to present an award at the event but was not given the opportunity, which deeply upset her son, Fernando de la Pena.
“A couple of months ago, she received a notice of invitation for the FAMAS awards night. For those of you who aren’t familiar, FAMAS (Filipino Academy of Movie Arts and Sciences Awards) is the equivalent of the USA’s Oscar Awards. She was also given a script to go over and memorize as an awards presenter coupled with another veteran actor, Mr. Tirso Cruz 3rd,” De la Pena wrote on Facebook.
“Being the true professional that my mother is, she memorized and rehearsed her script to perfection, braved the downpour of a Signal No. 1 Typhoon warning and drove to the Manila Hotel,” he added.
He detailed how Darren had purchased a new dress, shoes, and paid for professional hair and makeup, spending P5,000 per plate for herself and three grandchildren.
Despite her preparations, Darren was not called on stage. Instead, Tirso Cruz III presented the award with a young singer.
“My mother never went on the stage. The PR officer of FAMAS who had been in constant communication with my mother prior to the event had absolutely no explanations to offer, just a thousand apologies. He confessed not knowing what happened and wasn’t sure why there was a last-minute change. My Mom said ‘it’s okay’ but decided to leave nonetheless,” De la Pena said.
He expressed his frustration, calling the incident “rude, disrespectful, unethical, and unprofessional.”
“You would think and assume that a ‘prestigious award-giving body’ who had been doing the same thing every year, over and over without fail, would have mastered their craft after 72 years. But no, not this entity. To all of you people behind FAMAS, you cannot do this to an icon of Philippine Cinema!” De la Pena added.
He considered taking legal action but decided against it after his sister advised him to leave it in God’s hands.
In response, FAMAS issued a statement expressing regret and acknowledging their error.
“FAMAS would like to express its sincerest apologies to Miss Eva Darren, an icon in the Philippine Movie Industry and a professional actress whose career is indubitably worthy of emulation. She was part of the program in last night’s Awards Night and was supposed to present Special Citations with Mr. Tirso Cruz III. But considering that we were running a live show, and due to the myriad of people present in last night’s festivities, the production team was not able to locate Ms. Darren. This was indeed a setback in the live show and a negligence on the part of the team,” the statement read.
The organization assured that the mistake was unintentional and a result of a misjudgment during the live broadcast, necessitating a last-minute replacement.
FAMAS promised to make amends, suggesting a personal visit from the FAMAS Board to honor Darren and rebuild trust.
“We are writing this with a heavy heart especially after hearing that Miss Darren and her family were terribly hurt by this unintentional disregard to her presence and stature. We truly value Miss Darren and the rest of the veteran stars present last night true to the Homecoming Concept of the show. But as there were brilliant moments to the most star-studded awards night in recent memory, there were also hitches and unfortunate developments in a live show such as this one. We understand that an apology alone cannot undo the damage this might have caused Miss Darren but we are committed to make amends and rebuild her trust by a personal visit of the FAMAS Board to honor her stature, if she allows it,” the statement concluded.
